A Beautiful Change
by iloveromance
Summary: Daphne's impromptu decision to get a haircut nearly ends in disaster, but of course Niles sees it in a completely different way.


"All right, Mrs. Crane, are you ready for the unveiling?"

"I'm positively ready." Daphne said, trying to match her enthusiasm to that of the perky twenty-something who stood behind her.

"Here we go!"

The moment the chair whirled around, Daphne stared into the mirror, horrified. She'd distinctly told the stylist that she only wanted a trim on her shoulder-length hair and she scolded herself for not paying closer attention instead of chatting incessantly. While the sweet-natured girl went to work on her locks, Daphne indulged her in a bit of family history, a subject which seemed to fascinate the girl. At least someone was interested.

But now ….

"So what do you think, Mrs. Crane? Don't you love it? I think it looks rad!"

Rad. Words that Daphne hadn't heard since high school and had hoped to never hear again. Apparently the word had come back into fashion but it was par for the course, since the eighties seemed to have made a comeback in a big way.

Her trembling fingers went to her hair. Her once beautiful hair that was now almost as short as Niles

It would take months, or more realistically, years for her hair to grow to its original length. Oh why hadn't she paid more attention? She should have known better than to go to a discount salon in the mall of all places! Even Niles seemed to have his reservations about it. But her hair was driving him crazy and the haircuts were on sale for half price. Now she'd paid an even bigger price, both physically and emotionally.

She chided herself again for not waiting to see her regular stylist, the one whom she'd been seeing since she started working for Frasier all those years ago. Had Sheryl not been on a whirlwind European cruise with the man she'd married after having known him only a short time, Daphne would have most certainly made an appointment, but she had decided to wait it out. That is until her hair became such a nuisance that she couldn't stand it any longer.

On a rare Saturday when she and Niles had no real obligations, they drove to the mall which was but a few miles from their home. She popped into a few shops and bought some things and then hurried to meet Niles. He'd told her that he was going to pass the time in Re-Read Books; the used book store that he said he'd hoped carried a long forgotten book on Shakespearean plays. It was not at all the type of bookstore that she could ever imagine her husband inhabiting, but she liked it when he surprised her. And so she shrugged and kissed his cheek.

"It's worth a try." She said, hoping that she sounded reassuring.

"Well, what about you?"

"Oh the last thing is another book, but don't worry about me. I'll be all right. In fact…" Her eyes moved to the neon sign across from them. The bright purple one that read "Shear Satisfaction." The chalkboard sign in the window read "Haircuts $10". She knew that they could afford a lot more but this was a deal too good to pass up.

What was the harm in saving a little money? She tousled her hair in an effort to brush it out of her eyes.

"Oh my hair is such a mess!" And for ten dollars I could stand to get a trim."

Niles eyes' narrowed. She knew that look and she knew it all too well.

"There? Are you sure?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

"Well…"

"Look, I know it's not the fancy place that I usually go to but since we're here already-."

"But Daphne-."

"If you don't want me to-."

"No, it's just-."

"I'll be fine, all right? Come and meet me when you're through. I'll probably only be about a half an hour."

He smiled and kissed her. "It's a date, Mrs. Crane."

Now she felt her heart racing. Niles would be back to get her any moment. What would he do? What would he say? She sighed, hoping that her hair would grow quickly, although she knew better. It was just wishful thinking. Not wanting to cause a scene, she thanked the stylist and walked to the register.

"We hope you'll come again, Mrs. Crane. You look fabulous!"

Daphne wanted to strangle the perky receptionist as she reluctantly handed over her credit card. Normally she would have protested the horrible service that she'd received and flatly refused to pay. But she was too upset to think about it. And so she simply smiled and nodded.

Her throat felt tight as she walked into the mall, but she saw no signs of her husband. For several minutes she stood, watching the people walk past her; all of them with beautiful hair. And that's when she started to cry.

"I'm looking for my wife, Daphne Moon. She had an appointment here earlier."

At the sound of his voice in the distant background she whirled around, quickly brushing the tears from her cheeks. But still they continued to fall.

"Certainly sir, she's right over there. And she looks fabulous!"

Once again, the perky receptionist's voice made Daphne cringe.

Niles turned and looked around in confusion. "I-I don't-."

Nervously Daphne waved to get his attention. His eyes widened and he walked toward her, still staring at her in disbelief. From the expression on his face, she must have looked worse than she thought.

"Daphne?"

"H-hello, Niles."

He moved closer. "Daphne?"

Amazingly she laughed. "You're starting to remind me of our first meeting, remember? You kept saying _you're Daphne_?"

"I'm sorry, I…" He reached out and touched her hair, or what was left of it anyway. "It's just… is it really you?"

She knew he was trying to be sweet; tactful even, but instantly she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Niles, I look horrible, don't I? I knew I should have never gone into this bloody place! They cut all me hair off! And now it's going to take forever to grow back!"

"I'm sorry, Daphne. I didn't mean to imply-."

"You can say it, Niles! I look bloody awful!"

"Daphne, no-."

"Look at me, Niles! Oh this is horrible! Damn it, I knew I should have listened to you! Now look what I've done!"

His serious expression melted into a smile. "You're beautiful."

"What?"

"You're beautiful."

His words, although they warmed her heart, did little to ease her disappointment. "Niles, you're always saying that. But you also always say that we should be honest with each other. You didn't even recognize me a minute ago. So I must look terrible. I-."

His lips met hers, his warm hand cradling her cheeks. "You could never look terrible, Daphne. You're beautiful. And although it's true that I will miss being able to run my fingers through your hair, I promise I'm being completely honest when I say that I think you're the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen. Even if your hair is as short as mine."

"Niles..."

"And the best part is that I can see more of your neck, which gives me more places to kiss... Like this..."

When he began trailing kisses across her bare neck, she laughed and cupped his face in her hands, bringing his lips to hers. "Oh Niles, I love you."

"I love you too, and I've never meant anything more in my life."

She held him close, suddenly happy with her new hairstyle. And she couldn't wait to show it off.

THE END


End file.
